| Paul Pender | |
| Realname: | Paul Pender |
| Weight: | 160 pounds (middleweight) |
| Height: | 5'10' |
| Reach: | 72 |
| Nationality: | American |
| Birth Date: | June 20, 1930 |
| Birth Place: | Brookline, Massachusetts |
| Death Place: | Bedford, Massachusetts |
| Style: | Orthodox |
| Total: | 48 |
| Wins: | 40 |
| Losses: | 6 |
| Draws: | 2 |
| No Contests: | 0 |
| Ko: | 20 |
Paul Pender (June 20, 1930 – January 12, 2003), was an American boxer and firefighter from Massachusetts who held the World Middleweight Championship.[1] [2]
Pender was born in the Boston suburb of Brookline, Massachusetts, the son of William and Anna (Lyster) Pender. A 1949 graduate of Brookline High School, Pender was recruited as an all American football player at Michigan State University and Penn State, but instead, chose to enter professional boxing, while attending Staley College. Although a champion, he regarded boxing as his second job and being a Brookline firefighter his first. As an amateur, he won the New England welterweight championship.
Pender was a member of the United States Marine Corps.
In 1959, the National Boxing Association withdrew its recognition of Sugar Ray Robinson as middleweight champion. Gene Fullmer and Carmen Basilio fought for the vacant NBA title, and Fullmer won. Pender beat Robinson, one of the greatest fighters of all time, for the disputed middleweight championship title.[3] He won by split decision in 15 rounds. Pender fought Robinson once again to defend his title and went on to beat him by split decision.
He fought a set of three matches against English boxer Terry Downes, of which only the third (on April 7, 1962) went the full distance. He won the first and the third bout, but the last would prove to be the only fight of that year for Pender and the last of his career. The New York Boxing Commission stripped Pender of his title for not defending it against Dick Tiger. Pender sued and won on appeal.[4]
His career was hampered by his brittle hands.[5] He retired May 7, 1963 as the current world middleweight champion.[6]
His career record was 40 wins (20 by KO), 6 losses, and 2 draws.
He died in Bedford, Massachusetts on January 12, 2003, at the Veterans Administration Hospital.
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 | Win | 40–6–2 | Terry Downes | UD | 15 | Apr 7, 1962 | ||
| 47 | Loss | 39–6–2 | Terry Downes | RTD | 9 (15) | Jul 11, 1961 | ||
| 46 | Win | 39–5–2 | Carmen Basilio | UD | 15 | Apr 22, 1961 | ||
| 45 | Win | 38–5–2 | Terry Downes | TKO | 9 (15) | Jan 14, 1961 | ||
| 44 | Win | 37–5–2 | Sugar Ray Robinson | SD | 15 | Jun 10, 1960 | ||
| 43 | Win | 36–5–2 | Sugar Ray Robinson | SD | 15 | Jan 22, 1960 | ||
| 42 | Win | 35–5–2 | Gene Hamilton | UD | 10 | Dec 14, 1959 | ||
| 41 | Win | 34–5–2 | Jackson Brown | UD | 12 | Aug 17, 1959 | ||
| 40 | Win | 33–5–2 | Ralph Tiger Jones | UD | 10 | Mar 17, 1959 | ||
| 39 | Win | 32–5–2 | Joe Shaw | TKO | 5 (10) | Feb 16, 1959 | ||
| 38 | Win | 31–5–2 | Young Beau Jack | DQ | 3 (10) | Feb 9, 1959 | ||
| 37 | Win | 30–5–2 | Joe Gomes | TKO | 6 (10) | Jan 5, 1959 | ||
| 36 | Win | 29–5–2 | Willie Kid Johnson | TKO | 3 (10) | Dec 22, 1958 | ||
| 35 | Win | 28–5–2 | Pete Adams | TKO | 4 (10) | Dec 15, 1958 | ||
| 34 | Win | 27–5–2 | Jackson Brown | TKO | 3 (10) | Nov 17, 1958 | ||
| 33 | Win | 26–5–2 | Jimmy Skinner | UD | 10 | Dec 4, 1956 | ||
| 32 | Loss | 25–5–2 | Gene Fullmer | UD | 10 | Feb 14, 1955 | ||
| 31 | Win | 25–4–2 | Freddie Mack | TKO | 4 (10) | Jan 6, 1955 | ||
| 30 | Win | 24–4–2 | Ted Olla | SD | 10 | Dec 20, 1954 | ||
| 29 | Win | 23–4–2 | Larry Villeneuve | UD | 10 | Aug 3, 1954 | ||
| 28 | Loss | 22–4–2 | Jimmy Beau | TKO | 5 (10) | Mar 31, 1952 | ||
| 27 | Win | 22–3–2 | Otis Graham | UD | 10 | Oct 1, 1951 | ||
| 26 | Loss | 21–3–2 | Gene Hairston | KO | 3 (10) | Apr 30, 1951 | ||
| 25 | Draw | 21–2–2 | Joe Rindone | PTS | 10 | Mar 12, 1951 | ||
| 24 | Loss | 21–2–1 | Joe Rindone | UD | 10 | Jan 22, 1951 | ||
| 23 | Win | 21–1–1 | Norman Hayes | KO | 7 (10) | Jan 8, 1951 | ||
| 22 | Loss | 20–1–1 | Norman Hayes | UD | 10 | Dec 11, 1950 | ||
| 21 | Win | 20–0–1 | Harold Sampson | TKO | 3 (10) | Nov 27, 1950 | ||
| 20 | Win | 19–0–1 | Norman Horton | KO | 2 (10) | Nov 13, 1950 | ||
| 19 | Win | 18–0–1 | Ernie Durando | UD | 10 | Oct 23, 1950 | ||
| 18 | Win | 17–0–1 | Roy Wouters | UD | 10 | Oct 9, 1950 | ||
| 17 | Win | 16–0–1 | Bobby James | UD | 10 | Sep 25, 1950 | ||
| 16 | Win | 15–0–1 | Al Couture | TKO | 7 (10) | Jun 22, 1950 | ||
| 15 | Win | 14–0–1 | Charley Dodson | UD | 10 | May 3, 1950 | ||
| 14 | Win | 13–0–1 | Leon Brown | TKO | 5 (8) | Mar 27, 1950 | ||
| 13 | Win | 12–0–1 | Sonny Horne | UD | 10 | Jan 23, 1950 | ||
| 12 | Draw | 11–0–1 | Bill Daley | PTS | 10 | Dec 19, 1949 | ||
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Bill Daley | UD | 8 | Oct 21, 1949 | ||
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Jose Contreras | KO | 2 (6) | Oct 5, 1949 | ||
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Mike Gillo | PTS | 6 | Sep 26, 1949 | ||
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Ted Brassley | TKO | 3 (6) | Sep 12, 1949 | ||
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Eddie Richardson | KO | 1 (?) | Jun 9, 1949 | ||
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Mike Saad | UD | 6 | May 2, 1949 | ||
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Johnny Rice | KO | 1 (6) | Apr 11, 1949 | ||
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | George Meyers | KO | 3 (6) | Mar 28, 1949 | ||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Frank Theodore | KO | 2 (4) | Mar 3, 1949 | ||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Mickey Lane | KO | 2 (6) | Feb 17, 1949 | ||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Paul Williams | KO | 1 (4) | Jan 28, 1949 | ||